Toby Gerhart, Stanford Cardinal Rolling Into Match-Up With Cal Bears

Sports News - November 18th, 2009 - Written by John

Maybe it isn't the atop the conference standings just yet, but it's hard to argue that Stanford isn't the hottest team in the Pac-10. On the heels of two impressive wins against two teams ahead of them in the standings, the Cardinal go for a sweep of the preseason favorites when they host the Cal Bears on Saturday.

BetUS has Stanford favored by 7 in the College Football Betting Lines along with a gaudy total of 65 1/2.

Mathematically, the Cardinal can still win the Pac-10 and earn a berth to the Rose Bowl with a little luck. They would need to win this week, then hope Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona all lose in the next two weeks. It would be the fitting end to a huge turnaround by head coach Jim Harbaugh, who inherited the program two years ago after a 1-11 start. It would be the first time Stanford has reached the Rose Bowl since 2000, and just the second time since 1972.

The Cardinal has gotten back into the race by scoring a total of 106 points against Oregon and Southern California over the last two games, while making a superstar out of running back Toby Gerhart. He is currently second on ESPN's Heisman predictor after back-to-back monster performances in those games. Against Oregon, he ran for a season-high 223 yards and three touchdowns, then backed it up with 178 yards and another three scores. For the year, Gerhart is running at a 5.3 yards per clip and is projected for 1,674.

His film has Cal head coach Jeff Tedford in fits at night.

"It's probably the most impressive thing I've seen, as far as their performance against SC and Oregon," Tedford told the Associated Press on Monday. "That's not easy to do. You really have to give them a lot of credit for where they are and what they've accomplished."

Tedford would know. Against the Ducks and Trojans, his team sufficed only six total points and were blown out. And that was with running sensation Jahvid Best. He won't have that luxury this week. Best will remain on the sidelines for a second-straight week after suffering a horrifying concussion against Oregon State. It was his second concussion in as many weeks, and Tedford said there was "no chance" he would risk a third.

"Not having a player like Jahvid Best, let's be honest, the guy is one of the best players in the country," Tedford admitted. "You can't say we're not going to miss Jahvid Best. That doesn't mean our other guys aren't going to step up and play."

The Golden Bears are simply jockeying for position to reach a better bowl. As it stands, they would likely play in a late-December bowl, but might get invited to something as appealing as the Holiday Bowl if they were to win out.

Stanford is 10th in the country in points per game, and is 14th in total offense, but has only beaten Cal twice this decade.

Read more about this game and others in our College Football Game Previews.

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